Pasty, Prime Minister? The Return of Satire

Satire's been a bit on the quiet side in recent years don't you think? Yes, veteran show Have I Got News For You is still poking fun at the news but elsewhere it's been pretty thin on the ground.

Now though it looks like a new wave of satire may be about to hit UK screens with the announcement that Yes, Prime Minister is back and with the original writers Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay taking a poke at the current PM and his mix and match of ministers, with Jim Hacker leading a coalition government. It's another in a growing list of shows that are being resurrected by UKTV but why now?

I think it has a lot to do with the political landscape, a Tory government - sorry, 'Coalition' - privatisation plans and the battle lines between the unions and big business being more pronounced at the moment. It's the eighties all over again - we do like a bit of retro don't we? There's just something about Conservatives that encourages comics to bare their teeth and really bite back with satire. Plus, as the YPM writers themselves have said, there's a missing ingredient in political news coverage, namely that of personal ambition and the power-play of individual politicians, trying to do one another over, especially when they come from different ideological standpoint.

Twenty Twelve returned this week too, another brilliantly observed show about the corporate circus surrounding the Olympics, starring Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Hynes and the brilliant Olivia Coleman. The first episode dove in head first with the Algerian's threatening to pull out over the lack of a Mosque and a chaotic conference call featuring Timothy Bentick and Lord Coe.

Ten O'clock Live, which has its detractors, at least has plenty to get stuck into, what with 'Pastygate', Petrol Panic and plenty more besides. And despite it courting opinions from forums that it lacks bite, it is good to see a woman at the helm in Lauren Laverne, who this writer thinks is a canny operator. More from her, please Channel Four.

The ground has been prepared well - more than two million unemployed, unions on strike, the Health Service under threat - for a crop of satirical weeds to get up the noses of Number Ten. All we need now is some latex puppets, the cream of British impressionists and we can really cause some mayhem. Spitting Image, UKTV?